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A Personal Tribute 



governor 
Frederic T. Green halge 

BY HIS PRIVATE SECRETARY 

HENRY A. THOMAS, 

DELIVERED AT 

DORCHESTER, NEWTON HIGHLANDS, SOUTH WEYMOUTH, WOBURN, 

CHELSEA, HYDE PARK, HOLBROOK, CONCORD, WEST MED- 

FORD, FRANKLIN SCHOOL, BOSTON; FAULKNER 

SCHOOL, MALDEN; HARVARD SCHOOL, 

CHARLESTOWN. 



BOSTON : 

WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS, 

18 Post Office Square. 

1896. 



r 




FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 
Born July 19. 1842. Died March 5, 1896. 



A Personal Tribute 



GOVERNOR 



Frederic T. Greenhalge 



RT nis rnivATE secrktauy 

HENRY A. THOMAS, 

nELIVERED AT 

DORCHESTER, NEWTON HIGHLANDS, SOUTH WEYMOUTH, WORURN, 

CHELSEA, HYDE PARK, HOLBROOK, CONCORD, WEST MED- 

FORD, FRANKLIN SCHOOL, BOSTON; FAULKNER 

SCHOOL, MALDEN; HARVARD SCHOOL, 

CHARLESTOWN. 



By TranafOT 

MAR 30 1917 



BOSTON : 

WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTINCi CO., STATE PRINTERS, 

18 Post Office Square. 

189G. 



Frederic Thomas Greenhalge. 



So much has ah-eady been said about the career 
of Fkederic T. Greenhalge it is not necessary 
for me to go into detail regarding his ancestry 
and early life. The fact that he came to this coun- 
try from old England at the age of twelve years; 
that from humble beginnings and amid adverse 
circumstances, he rose to be the governor of Mas- 
sachusetts, makes the story of his life one of ex- 
ceptional interest and at times really dramatic in 
its incidents. His father was at one time in pros- 
perous circumstances; he was well read in the lit- 
erature of his time and was on intimate terms with 
the leading men of Edenfield, England, and was 
an artist uf no mean ability. Failing in business, 
he accepted, in the year 1855, an offer from the 
Merrimac Printing Company, at Lowell, Mass, and 
took the management of their works at an annual 
salary of four hundred pounds. Like many another 



great man, the g-overnor was Ibrtimate in having 
a most excellent mother. She was j,\n especially 
able and impressive woman, of great keenness of 
mind, (jnickness of wit, nnnsnal energy and ambi- 
tion, quick-tempered but warm-hearted, and thor- 
oughly charming in her home life. These same 
characteristics could easily be traced in the life of 
her distinguished son. 

I shall only speak of the governor's more promi- 
nent traits as a man and public official, and also 
draw some lessons from his noble life for our own 
profit and inspiration. I have so often heard him 
speak on semi-religious occasions, where he most 
fittingly voiced the sentiment of a Christian com- 
monwealth, believing that good citizenship was 
closely identified with Christianity, — church and 
State depending upon each other for life and influ- 
ence, — that this memorial service seems entirely in 
keeping with the day and all it stands for to hold 
these memorial services in a Christian church. It 
is because he spoke so earnestly on every occa- 
sion, because he always left an impression that he 
believed what he said, that he lives to-day so clearly 
in the remembrance of mankind. Emerson wrote 
of Lord Chatham that "there seemed to be some- 



thing in the man finer than anything which he 
said." This was, indeed, true of Governor Green- 
halge. His teachers in the public schools easily 
discovered it, the operatives in the mills of Lowell, 
who often needed him as a friend and advocate, 
recognized it, and" the people of the Common- 
wealth, regardless of party or sect, by their count- 
less expressions of regard testify to the worth of 
his real character. His speech, though eloquent 
and gracious, was not the real source of his great- 
ness. It was the reserve power of nobility of soul, 
of loftiness of mind, of singleness of purpose, of 
generosity of heart, that impressed itself upon 
those who listened to him or came in contact with 
him even more distinctly and profoundly than the 
sentiments to which he gave utterance. 

Mr. Greenhalge was not one who sought office, 
but after the people had placed him in office he 
accepted in the highest sense all its responsibili- 
ties. He was police justice, mayor, legislator, con- 
gressman, governor; and in all his public service 
no charge of corruption, no double dealing, no at- 
tempt at personal advancement to the injury of 
others, or any sacrifice of principle can ever be laid 
at his door. Tt has been said that he broadened 



6 

and .steadily grew in the office of governor, and 
hni)pily disappointed many of his former critics. I 
think it more just to his memory to sa}' tliat he 
was always able, conscientious, broad-minded, and 
it only needed the occasion or the emergency to 
bring into play these great characteristics which 
had not been familiar to the public eye. I never 
knew a man upon whom the responsibilit}" of a 
great office seemed to rest so heavily as it did 
upon Mr. Greenhalge after his election as gov- 
ernoi-. He realized that he was the candidate of 
the Kepublican party, wiiose principles he was 
ever ready and zealous to defend; but as gov- 
ernor he believed that the interests of the entire 
people had been committed to his keeping, and 
to him the name and honor of Massachusetts 
was a sacred trust. Called a " one termer " on 
the night of his first election, he said at Low- 
ell, " I don't shrink from the title. I shall try 
and do my duty and let God and the people 
take care of the second term." 

He was intensely patriotic, a worthy Amei'ican. 
I think he always had some regrets that he hap- 
pened to be born upon a foreign soil. At a din- 
ner of the Sons of the American Revolution, 



where he was responding* for the Commonwealth, 
he remai'ked, after being received with great en- 
thusiasm, " If I have any sorrow to-night, as I 
remember the great names yon honor, it is that 
I was not born in this country." He was so 
sure of his loyalty and devotion to his adopted 
land that any hint that he could not be classed 
with a native-born American touched him to the 
quick. There are occasions in life when great 
souls live years in a single moment, when a man 
seems to be possessed with superhuman powers, 
when his whole nature forces itself into language. 
The close of the day when Frederic T. Green- 
halge was nominated for governor of Massachu- 
setts furnished such an occasion, and illustrates 
better than any words of eulogy the patriotic 
pride to which I have referred. The people of 
Lowell, without regard to i)arty, already proud 
of their distinguished fellow-citizen, were gath- 
ered that night in Huntington Hall to give him 
welcome and God-speed. eJust before he entered 
the hall Mr. Greenhalge was handed a Lowell 
paper which hinted that the opposing party might 
make his foi*eign birth an issue in the cami)aign. 
It roused the lion in his nature and at the same 



8 

time touched tlie tenderest spot in his heart. 
The hall was packed with an eager mass of hu- 
manity. As the next governor of the State was 
introduced a long and wild shout went up from 
thousands of throats, which fairly shook the build- 
ing. Mr. Greenhalge spoke calmly at first, and 
every sentence was followed by cheers. But it 
was not long before he began to unfold his heart 
to his audience, his neighbors and friends. lie 
had been stung at the wrong time, and he had 
a right to vindicate himself, vindicate himself for- 
ever, lie was carried back in his thoughts to the 
time when he stood on that same platform as a 
school boy, declaiming Curran's immortal speech 
on universal emancipation. " I believe," he said, 
" in loyalty to Lowell and to Massachusetts. 
Every drop of blood in me is true to that prin- 
ciple. Why are you here? It is because you 
know something of my life. It has not been the 
best life in the world; I never claimed that; but 
I hope that the record above will at least show 
that to no child of man have I ever denied e(jual 
I'ights, the right of liberty, the right of justice 
and of lair opportunity, under whatever sun he 
may have been born. They are going to make 



that the issue, are they? Let them do it if they 
dare. An aheii? Let the man rise up who dares 
charge me with being an alien to this Common- 
wealth, to this republic. Here are the ashes of 
my father and my mother, of my first-born; here 
are the hopes of my wife and children, sons and 
daughters of the Revolution. I say, God will 
have some chosen curse to blast the man, the 
wretch, who dares take from me my country. 
You know me. Have I ever been unfair? Let 
any man. Irishman, Englishman, German or African, 
say that I have wronged him. We want a larger 
nationality; a spirit of unification. They talk about 
the unification that Bismarck carried out; in my 
heart I have a grander project, — the unification of 
the people of Massachusetts, the people of America." 

The impassioned periods of the speaker brought 
tears to every eye. Men and women stood upon 
their feet and shouted themselves hoarse, and it 
was several minutes before Mr. Greenhalge could 
conclude his speech. It is needless to say that 
the issue was not again referred to during the 
entire camjiaign. 

Mr. Greenhalge was a man of courage, not 
the courage that dares for the sake of daring, 



10 

but a calm and steady fortitude that meets an 
emergency and inspires confidence in a man's Ibl- 
lowers, a rugged honesty that dares light for 
principle regardless of risk or censure. Many 
times during his term of office as governor was 
he tempted to depart from the path which he had 
marked out for himself. Often was it necessary 
for him to leave his friends and party associates, 
not because he had lost confidence in them, but 
because he had implicit faith in his own judg- 
ment, and once he had placed his feet upon the 
rock of conviction it was quite impossible to move 
him from his position. He sometimes offended men 
because of his action, his cutting replies, and his 
straightforward opinions; but because of his cour- 
age, his honest intention to do the right thing, 
even those who differed with him could not but 
respect him. I have often heard him say, when 
the arrows of criticism were flying around him, 
that he had certain work mapped out in his own 
mind which he desired to accomplish, and what- 
ever men might say the eternal God would give 
liim the credit of trying to do his duty. Gov- 
ernor Greenhalge was not long in office before 
he liad a chance to show the kind of stuff that 



11 

was in him. I refer to a day that has made 
Doric Hall and the State House famous for all 
time. The beginning of his administration found 
a great many men out of work, and a feeling 
of discontent was rife in the community. The 
unemployed had organized for the vindication of 
their rights, and, after several visits of their leader 
to the executive chamber, finally determined to 
make a formal demand upon the State govern- 
ment for assistance. On the twentieth day of 
February, 1894, the governor had made an ap- 
pointment to meet a delegation from their num- 
ber at the State House at two o'clock. Mrs. 
Greenhalge came to Boston that day to lunch 
with her husband at the Parker House. As was 
my custom, I accompanied the governor to the 
hotel. The lunch was ordered, but the governor 
refused to eat. Naturally a little superstitious, he 
appeared to be deep in thought, and remarked 
that he anticipated trouble at the State House, 
and Avas anxious to return. He left me to care 
for Mrs. Greenhalge, while he went directly to his 
post of duty. I followed as soon as possible, and 
ui)on my arrival at the State House found a mob 
of more than a thousand men crowding the pas- 



12 

sageway leading from Beacon street. The gov- 
ernor was standing upon the front steps, with 
uncovered head, and was addressing the men in 
earnest and powerful language. lie told them 
that he appreciated their condition, tliat he was 
anxious to supply their wants as far as possible, 
but that their proceedings must be ordei-ly and 
in accordance with law. lie counselled patience, 
and promised to inquire of the legislature what 
action could be taken under the Constitution. He 
talked to them as man to man, and at the close 
asked if what he said was not right and fair. 
Cheers and other signs of approval followed him 
as he retired to the executive chamber. For some 
unknown reason the crowd rapidly surged into 
Doric Hall and completely occupied the corridors 
of the capitol. The men were fast getting beyond 
control. Swift, the leader, had mounted one of 
the galleries and had begun to harangue the 
crowd. His speech was of the most incendiary 
character. The governor, he said, had promised 
certain things. If these promises were carried out, 
well and good; if not, they would clean out the 
chamber, and take the matter into their own hands. 
I happened to hear the remark, and hastened to 



13 

the executive chamber, where the governor was 
pacing back and forth alone. I told him what 
had been said. Quick as thought he started im- 
mediately to the hall below. Swift was sum- 
moned, and the two men stood there face to 
face, one the leader of a mob, sullen and de- 
termined, the other the chief magistrate of a 
commonwealth, sworn to uphold the strength and 
majesty of her laws. That was the opportunity 
which, taken advantage of, made Governor Green- 
halge famous throughout the land. His action was 
not bravado; it was manhood, courage, heroism. 
With determination in every line of his face, he 
grasped the situation and asked Swift to explain 
the incendiary statements he had made threaten- 
ing the good order of the State. Swift cowered, 
and said that his followers intended to clean out the 
State House with the ballot. "You wish to make 
that qualification?" Swift said, "Yes." "Very 
well," said the governor, "I accept your explana- 
tion; but remember that all the civil and military 
forces of the State will be used, if necessary, to 
preserve the good order of the Commonwealth, 
and you, sir, will be held personally accountable 
for any incendiary act that may occur." It was 



■> _,¥<^ 



14 

an intensely dramatic moment, and those Avho stood 
there will never forget it. It was the death-blow to 
anarchistic proceedings in Massachusetts, certainly 
lor this generation. The crowd gradually dispersed, 
the governor kept his promise to send a message 
to the legislature, and that body appropi'iated iif- 
teen thousand dollars for the puri)ose of inquiring 
into the condition of the unemployed. This action 
was hardly necessary, however, as the community 
soon settled into its normal condition, while many 
of the men found employment or drifted away into 
other States. I have pictured this scene somewhat 
at length because the firm stand taken by the gov- 
ernor at that time did much to establish him in 
the confidence of the people, many of whom did 
not understand before the true mettle of the man 
they had elected to the highest place in their gift. 
It was a severe test of the courage of Mr. Gi*een- 
halge, but really not so trying as that which later 
led him to veto certain measures that came to him 
from the legislature. He wrote in his note-book 
at the time, " These vetoes trouble me very much." 
He disliked to stand out against the majority of 
his party in tlie legislature; it grieved him to dis- 
appoint dear friends who urged him to allow a 



^ g^- ^ 



15 

certain measure involving millions of money to be- 
come a law, but he never flinched in the discharge 
of his duty. He did not like to displease his coun- 
cillors who took opposite views of any situation, 
nor was it his wish to keep men in jail, as was 
necessai'y in a certain famous instance, but he had a 
profound respect for law, and whethei* coi'porations 
or individuals were concerned he had but one rule 
of action, " Whatever people may think of you do 
that which you believe to be right. Be alike in- 
different to censure and praise." It was a most 
bitter test of consistency when he decided to veto 
a bill increasing the salary of his faithful stenog- 
rapher, a young man whom he thought most highly 
of, and who had to write practically his own death- 
warrant for the governor to sign. 

Unselfishness was a strong element in the gover- 
nor's character. It was that which led him to give 
up his college career for a time and go back to 
Lowell, that he might earn money for the supi)ort 
of his widowed mother and sisters. lie went to 
Newbern during the war, and showed his gener- 
osity most clearly by sending every bit of his pay 
home to his mother. His college degree, sacrificed 
for a time, was finally conferred upon him in 1870. 



16 

It was the spirit of unselfishness which lost him his 
second election to Congress. He spoke in every 
other district but his own, night after night, when 
by a few speeches in his own it is generally con- 
ceded he might have secured his election. He ac- 
cepted invitations to represent the Commonwealth 
on various occasions, even when his physical condi- 
tion might justly have led him to decline, because he 
did not want to appear to be shirking Avork which 
his predecessors had undertaken. He was too gen- 
erous with his services in this direction. People 
say that it was easy for him to speak. In a cer- 
tain sense this was true, but we must take into 
consideration the immense amount of nervous force 
that was used up in the process. He had little 
time, on account of his official duties, to prepare 
his speeches, adapted to all kinds of occasions and 
audiences. For that i-eason it was necessary for 
him to put his whole soul into a few brief hours 
in order to bring out the thoughts which he de- 
sired to utter. Search the record of his achieve- 
ments in this direction, read his speeches, and you 
will find that he usually said the right thing and 
left some serious thought for the consideration of 
his hearers. His published addresses can never 



.^•^^ ■ 



17 

express his true ability, because he never had the 
time to prepare as he would like to have done. 
He was not an elocutionist, perhaps, but he carried 
force and conviction by his earnest manner, his 
well-rounded sentences, and his magnetic individ- 
uality. He had the qualities which men have ad- 
mired in all ages, — lofty intellect, profound reason, 
a sympathetic mind, graceful delivery, a magnetic 
voice, and an attractive personality, all necessary 
in a successful leader and public speaker. He 
could hold large or small audiences with wonder- 
ful power, and, if not an orator in the strict sense 
of the word, he reached the people through their 
hearts, and they called him eloquent. Had Mr. 
Greenhalge confined himself to the law, I believe 
that he would have made himself famous as a 
great jury lawyer. 

It was an inspiration to be associated with a man 
like Governor Greenhalge. He was a boi-n leader, 
one who understood the people. He had been 
brought up with them, and was always willing to 
state a case fairly to them, and leave his fate to 
their best judgment. About the festive board it 
was easy to tix the head of the table as the place 
where he sat. He was thoroughly companionable. 



18 

and was popular because of his democratic man- 
ners, his quick i-epartee, and his rare knowledge of 
men and things. Blessed with a i)henomenal mem- 
ory, he was constantly drawing from a well-filled 
storehouse of knowledge. Mythology and the clas- 
sics, facts relating to business, politics and society, 
readily responded to his call. He was a scholarly 
man far beyond what was generally known. He 
had a 8i)lendid library, and throughout his life he 
read and studied extensively. The great question 
with him seemed to be, How can I develop myself 
into the grandest possible manhood? 

There was a deep and strong religious current 
running through his whole life. It cropped out 
continually in his public speeches; it found easy ex- 
pression in the home which was so dear to him; 
it made him a useful layman in church work, and 
prompted him to many deeds of love and charity, 
Disai)pointments and afflictions did not weaken his 
faith in an all-wise, overruling power. He was 
wont to reason thus: If there were no trials in 
the world, there would be no chance for courage, 
no chance for ability or capacity, no enemy, no 
victory, no grave, no resurrection. He did not 
care for a religion that could not be used for prac- 



jtt9^ -^^-.^ ■ -.,». 



19 

tical purposes. He said, Adjust the principles of 
religion to every-day life. The best preparation 
for the next world, he reasoned, is to make this 
world as near like heaven as possible. His spirit 
never grovelled, and he never was jealous or re- 
vengeful. Written on his menu card at one of the 
large dinners which he attended, we find Whittier's 
beautiful lines: — 

" Others shall sing the song, 
Others shall right the wrong, 
Finish what I begin 
And what I fail of win. 
What matters it — I or they — 
Mine or another's day, 
So the right thing be said, 
And life the sweeter made." 

He was naturally broad-minded, and could not 
deny to others the same freedom of thought and 
action which he claimed for himself. Men loved 
him for his consistent liberality. Alluding to the 
criticism of his generosity in dealing with race and 
religious questions, and reviewing the record of the 
past two years, his simple but magnetic sentence 
at the State convention of 1805, " So help me 
God, I cannot do otherwise," will not soon be for- 



20 

gotten. It was the most striking incident of the 
convention. 

His strong character, his experience in ]»ul)hc 
life, his patriotism, liis courage, his leadersliip, 
seemed to be ahnost invaluable to the State just 
at this time. He had, by constant and trying 
work, deserved success, and there appeared to be 
still higher honors in store for him. But Mr. 
Greenhalge had, by his unusual activity, lived a 
century in the fifty odd years of his life. His 
busy brain refused to heed the warnings of a tired 
and overtaxed constitution, and the end came all 
too soon. If he was strong in life, he was truly 
heroic in sickness and death, and when the most 
intense suffering was api)arent to his faithful at- 
tendants he tried to cheer them by pleasant i-e- 
marks, and not a single murmur escaped his lips. 
True to his poetic instincts, he said, near the 
end, " The cu}) of mercy I will take," as the 
family physician brought the morphine to relieve 
his pain. 

On the day of his burial, remembering how weary 
he was ofttimes, with toil and worry, I was im- 
pressed by the peaceful expression upon his dead 
face, which seemed to be sent there by some good 



21 

angel, and it could well have been written over his 
bier : — 

" Life's work well done, 
Lile race well ruu, 
Life's erowii wt^ll won, 
Now eomes rest." 

The career of Governor Greenhalge appeals with 
special force to the young men of Massachusetts 
and the country. His whole life was a battle, a 
fight against obstacles, but he was bound to suc- 
ceed, as others will who are true to his rule of 
action. But his ready success must not blind us 
to the fact that he had uncommon intellectual 
powers, distinguished mental superiority, which 
Webster defines as genius; and if that term means 
leadership in thought, inventive power that fits the 
man to the occasion. Governor Gi'eenhalge was 
certainly a man of genius. 

Because he lived the life he did, it is easier for a 
man to be courageous and consistent, easier to sac- 
rifice private interests for the public good, easier 
to build up a symmetrical and noble manhood. He 
loved loyalty, and could not appreciate a friend- 
ship which depended upon the bestowal of office 
or personal favors. He always had before himself 



22 

a lofty ideal, and it moulded all his aetioiie. He 
Ava.s, indeed, the arehitect of his own fortune, with 
a well-defined plan always before him; but he kept 
that i)lan to himself. He was not ambitious in the 
narrow sense of the term. His ambition was to 
adapt himself to the hour and the opi^ortunity, and 
make the most of it. Right with him was king. 
The death of sueh a man startles us, but there is 
a divinity which shapes our ends, and in the givat 
hereafter we may learn that a human life nobly 
lived has its influence not only in time but in eter- 
nity. This life is but the preface of a book with 
many chapters. Such a si)irit as that of Govei'nor 
Grcenhalge is bound to resist the empire of decay, 
and, mighty in its influence, live on forevei". 



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